May Farm Petting Animals out of Hawley visited the Brownwood Public Library Thursday morning to wrap up its Summer Reading Program events,

“The kids get to come out and pet and feed the animals,” said Monica Becton with May Farm. “We’ve got small animals, they’ll pet them, touch them, and then I’ll answer any questions the kids have about the animals. This started out as a whole learning experience for kids to come out to our farm. But we do travel with the animals, we do different events throughout the year like birthday parties.”

Approximately 160 kids attended the last of four summer programs put on the library.

“We’re so grateful we were able to begin to return to a normal summer,” said Becky Isbell, Director of the Brownwood Public Library. “We’ve heard from so many parents and kids that are excited about reading this summer and that’s what it’s all about – encouraging kids to develop a love of reading and to expand their minds”

Isbell reported more than 340 kids signed up for the reading club this year, and they’ve read more than 2,100 hours.

“Congratulations to all the kids who participated in the program,” Isbell said. “We had 83 kids reach the goal of reading 10 or more hours for the summer and our two top readers both read 66 hours this summer. Any kids who want to keep reading can continue to log hours and add beads to their necklace through the month of August.”